Slipping and Sliding
by Loopstagirl
Summary: A one shot of Merlin and Arthur in the snow. What more needs to be said?


**Inspired by a review on "Man for all seasons", here is another one shot of Merlin and Arthur in the snow. Does anything more need to be said apart from please remember to review? :)**

**Unfortunately, i still don't own Merlin, the BBC does. :( I tried asking nicely...**

Merlin stood gazing out of Arthur's window as the prince prattled on around him, listing off numerous chores for the servant to do during the day. As per-usual, the servant wasn't listening to a word, instead gazing at the wonder that had befallen Camelot overnight. Everything was pure white, the snow settling gracefully over the land as far as the eye could see. It was perfect. The early morning had the sun gliding gracefully over the horizon, illuminating the whole kingdom as it reflected off the snow. It was at times like this Merlin could tell why Arthur was so proud of the kingdom, even if he did work hard not to show his emotions to the servant. It was so obvious though. Everyone knew how he truly felt about the land that would one day be his.

"_Mer_lin, have you listened to a word I've just said?" Arthur snapped, taking out his frustration on the poor servant. He didn't want to have to be stuck inside all day completing reports, but his father had insisted it was necessary as his duty as Crown Prince.

"Of course," Merlin replied dreamily, although Arthur was sure it was an automatic reaction to a half-heard question: he always received those words whenever he demanded an answer.

"It's so magical," Merlin continued, sighing in wonder as he gawked out across the fields. Immediately, Arthur felt a frown slip onto his face. Of all the analogies Merlin could think off, _that _was the one he had chosen? Maybe the black haired boy really was as stupid as Arthur always told him.

"And what, precisely, is so good about that, _Mer_lin?"

"Oh, don't go there," Merlin shot back, annoyed at how Arthur could twist everything he said. Like father, like son… If Arthur could make a comment like that regarding the weather, he dreaded to think what the reaction would be when the day of revelation came.

"I just meant it was so pretty."

"You really do sound like a girl; you know that, don't you, Merlin?"

"You tell me often enough," Merlin grumbled, wondering whether he would be able to say anything right today.

"Oh, go and do something useful," the prince snapped, determined to make a start on those reports whilst he still had at least a small amount of enthusiasm left. At least, that was what he was trying to tell himself. Plonking himself gloomily down at his table, Arthur roughly pulled the first stack towards him and picked up his quill, already biting the end as he thought. It didn't matter how many times Merlin told him that ruined them; the prince found old habits die-hard. Watching the prince pointedly ignore him, Merlin left the room. He hadn't listened to a word of the chores Arthur had told him to do, and now he really didn't know what to do with himself.

Wandering down the corridor, the warlock paused by a window, drinking in the beautiful sight before him. A group of children were playing in the courtyard, tossing snow at each other by the handfuls whilst shrieking with excitement. Watching them, Merlin felt a sly grin slip onto his face. He knew precisely what he could do now…

***

_Thud!_

Arthur grinded his teeth together in frustration as the noise went resounding around the room. Very slowly and deliberately, he bought the quill back to the parchment and began his next stroke, determined to get the report finished before he lost his temper.

_Thud!_

One fist clenched together tightly as the prince worked hard to manage his irritation. It was so hard to not go storming out there and teach his servant a lesson, yet Arthur was determined he was going to succeed. However, if Merlin threw one more…

_Thud!_

That did it. Throwing the pen down, Arthur rose from his chair in a graceful fury, striding across the room in a few steps. Fiddling with the latch on his window, the prince almost tore it out of the bracket he pulled so hard. Sticking his head out into the crisp morning air, Arthur blinked a few times. He hadn't realised quite how cold it was out there.

"Merlin! Stop throwing snowballs at my window!" Yelling furiously as loud as he could muster, Arthur allowed himself a small grin when he saw the entire courtyard had paused in their activity to see who was on the receiving end of the prince's bad temper this time.

"You told me to do something useful," Merlin called back up, grinning from ear to ear and dripping wet, his next missile already clutched in his hand. "So I'm doing some target practice. You always told me I was a lousy shot!"

"You are, _Mer_lin, you _are_. I bet you couldn't hit anything, with your shot being as bad as it is." Before Arthur could quite comprehend that he was asking for it, the prince found himself with a face full of snow.

For a moment, Arthur Pendragon was rendered speechless. Had his _servant_ really just thrown a snowball in his face? Shaking his hair clear of the sparkling droplets, Arthur glared at the boy below, whose grin was now even wider than the prince thought possible.

"You were saying, sire?" Merlin called up, trying to act as innocently as possible.

Arthur had had enough. Throwing himself back into his room, the prince grabbed his cloak from where it was strewn over the floor (because a certain incompetent servant hadn't got around to putting it away) and stormed out of his room. Servants scurried out of his way as he thundered through the castle, but the prince didn't notice. He only had one thought in his mind: revenge.

Merlin remained exactly where he was, his thoughts racing. Part of him couldn't believe he had plucked up the courage to actually do it, but he was so frustrated with Arthur – the prince had been in a bad mood for ages – and the abrupt disappearance made the servant consider running for it. But Merlin knew inside that Arthur's anger was just a front. It wasn't him he was angry at; it was being stuck inside with the reports. It was just possible Merlin had provided him with the freedom he had been craving.

Before his thoughts had gone any further, Arthur strode regally into view. He was still frowning, but Merlin noted with dread the sparkle glinting mischievously in his eye. The way the prince's hands were clasped behind his back made Merlin swallow audibly. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea after all…

_Smack!_

Before the warlock realised what was happening, he found himself being pelted with snow. Arthur's shot was, as always, perfect, and he was obviously balancing a lot of snow behind his back – the ammunition never seemed to run out. Running for it, Merlin pelted away from the courtyard and headed towards the market, Arthur hot on his heels, continuing to pelt snow at the fast retreating back.

It took no more than a few seconds to reach the lower town, but by that time, both boys were breathless with laughter. Merlin was soaked; his black hair almost plastered to his forehead as the snow slowly began to melt. Luckily for him, Arthur seemed to have finally run out of snowballs and the two faced each other almost warily, unsure of what the next move would be.

"You should have known that was coming, Merlin," Arthur told him, his voice laced with amusement. The run in the cold, not to mention the fact he was having fun for the first time in weeks meant the prince forgot he was supposed to be annoyed with his servant. Knowing how relaxed his master now was, Merlin grinned back cheekily.

"That's what happens when you question my aim. Told you I had been practicing!"

"Oi!" Arthur cried, throwing himself at the raven-haired boy and tackling him to the ground, burying them both deep within a snowdrift. Tumbling through the snow, neither of them felt the cold penetrating their sodden clothes, nor the hasty retreat of a nearby market stall owner as the pair tumbled towards them. Eventually, they managed to slide to a stop and Arthur climbed to his feet, towering over the servant spread on the floor.

"You know what happens when you question a prince, don't you, Merlin?" he said, trying to make his voice sound deadly. Whether because it was previous experience with the prince in snow, but Merlin looked worried for the first time, making Arthur grin.

"Arthur?" A voice called from behind the prince, causing him to spin and smile suddenly at the new arrival.

"Gwen. Enjoying the snow?" Before Guinevere was given a chance to respond, Merlin took his opportunity. Scrambling to his feet, he darted past the prince and pulled Gwen in front of him, ignoring her surprised cry as he shielded behind her.

"Merlin…" Arthur called warningly, not liking the situation in the slightest. He wouldn't risk getting Gwen wet or cold. The knight in him refused to throw anything in the direction of a lady.

"Knew you wouldn't risk her, Arthur," Merlin called back, his voice dancing with mirth.

Gwen seemed to have realised that which was occurring between the master and the servant, and a smile had graced her features causing Arthur's heart to leap. Tipping the prince a slow wink, Gwen crouched, causing Merlin to drop behind her quickly. With a meaningful expression, the handmaiden slowly gathered a handful of snow in her gloved hand, knowing Merlin would be unable to see her from his disadvantaged position. With one fluid movement, Gwen stood and threw her snow straight at Merlin, causing it to slip down his neck and yelp in surprise.

"And I thought you were my friend, Gwen!" he called up to her, grinning. Gwen simply raised her eyebrows and smiled as Arthur strode over. Knowing what was about to come, Merlin rose himself into a crouching position, unable to stop smiling. It had been months since any of them had had this much fun. Arthur made to bend down to pull his unfortunate servant to his feet when a nearby cry stopped him. The prince looked at the servant, who in turn looked at the maid who glanced at the prince.

"What was –?" Merlin began, but found himself stopped when the cry sounded again, and Arthur hissed at him warningly. Striding off, the prince made his way towards the sound, Gwen following close behind and Merlin running after them prior to trying to get up three times, but found the slipperiness of the ground meant he simply couldn't stand.

By the time Merlin caught up, the prince had come to a stop. Peering around Arthur's broad form, Merlin frowned in confusion when he took in the sight before him.

"…And…and…and then he throws him on the pond, says him will sink!" A small child no older than five stood before the prince, tears falling down his cheeks as Gwen hurried forward and wrapped her arms around the trembling child. He didn't seem to notice he was in the presence of the Crown Prince of Camelot, his only thought being that of the small wooden horse sitting in the middle of the frozen pond.

"Well?" Arthur demanded, causing the three boys behind the child to flinch. They had to be at least early teens, and judging by the way they were reacting, Merlin figured they knew precisely who was addressing them.

"We're very sorry, sire, we didn't mean no harm. T'was only a bit of fun, milord, honest."

"Go home," Arthur demanded, fixing them with a glare Merlin knew made the best of his knights tremble. "And leave this child alone."

The three boys didn't need telling twice and shot off. In their haste, one of them slipped on the treacherous ground and slid straight into his companions, causing all three to fall to the ground in a tumble of limbs before sprinting off again. Their fall made the child laugh delightedly and Arthur smiled softly down at the boy. Crouching so he was eye level with the child, Arthur's voice had softened. Taken by surprise, Merlin stared at Arthur. He never would have considered in a million years that the Crown Prince of Camelot was good with children.

"Now, what's your name?" he asked kindly.

"Tristiam." The voice had lost its initial tremble now the older boys were gone, and seemed, now, to be far more confident.

"Now, Tristiam, don't worry. My name is Arthur. This here, this is my friend Merlin. He is going to get your horse back for you, aren't you, _Mer_lin?"

"What?" the servant cried, protesting as Arthur grabbed him by the arm and pushed him towards the lake. "I can't go on there, it's miles out!"

Arthur didn't respond to his servant, only glared at him. Looking pointedly towards the child and then back to the lake, Merlin sighed. Arthur knew he wouldn't be able to leave the little boy upset like this. Sometimes, he loathed how well the prince knew him considering he didn't know anything important about him.

Bracing himself, Merlin attentively took a small step onto the ice. It had to be at least a foot thick; the cold weather was certainly lasting for a long period of time this year. Balancing himself, the servant gingerly took a second step, then a third. Before he could take a fourth, however, his foot shot out from underneath him, causing the warlock to land in a heap on the ice. Feeling the coldness through his trousers, Merlin groaned.

"Don't just sit there, _Mer_lin, get on with it!" Arthur called from the sidelines, a teasing smile dancing across his mouth at the sight of his servant sprawled across the ice.

"Yes, sire," Merlin grumbled, his voice laced with sarcasm which only succeeded in widening Arthur's grin. Carefully steadying himself on his feet again, Merlin rose to a crouch…for all of about five seconds. His boots simply couldn't grip the surface and the servant found himself in a heap again.

"Honestly, Merlin, do I have to do everything?" Striding forward, Arthur missed the delighted smile that shot across the black-haired boy's face as he saw the prince step onto the ice. Determined to prove how clumsy Merlin was, Arthur didn't slow his speed. Quite suddenly, the prince went from walking to sliding along on his stomach, skidding forward uncontrollably forward on the freezing ice, only coming to a stop when he crashed straight into his servant. Halfway to getting to his feet again, Merlin didn't notice Arthur's arrival until his feet were once more swept dramatically from under him.

"Oomph," Merlin cried, caught by surprise as the prince crashed into him.

"Not as easy as it looks, is it, _Sire_?"

"You didn't exactly make it look easy, Merlin. Get off my leg!"

"It's not _my_ fault, you crashed into me for once, remember!"

"Merlin –" Before Arthur could go any further, a voice from the edge of the pond stopped the boys in their bickering.

"I have an idea," Gwen called out to them, trying to hide her smile from Arthur. "Don't go anywhere until I get back!"

Turning on her heel, Gwen was gone with a flash of her cloak, leaving Arthur and Merlin staring out after her.

"It's not as if we can go anywhere," Merlin grumbled, once more trying to climb to his feet and once more landing on the ice. Arthur hadn't even bothered trying, he had seen so many of Merlin's attempts now that he didn't see the point, there was no way he was going to be able to get up, even if his boots were a lot sturdier than Merlin's. Trying to aid his servant in finding his feet again, the time passed extremely quickly until Gwen came hurrying back into sight, her cheeks tinged with the coldness of the air. Dragging along behind her was some sort of rough frame, obviously designed for a purpose unknown to the prince. However, he had a very good idea what _he _would be able to do with it.

"Throw me the rope, Gwen. I'll drag it out from here."

Taking her best shot, Gwen threw the rope onto the pond, relieved when it landed only a matter of inches from his hand. Grabbing it, Arthur pulled sharply, causing the frame to come sliding smoothly across the ice towards them. Merlin was paying no attention to what anyone else was doing; he was too busy finding his feet. He had just made it into a standing position when Arthur's contraption came to a stop beside him, causing the warlock to glance at his master in concern.

"You can't be serious!" Knowing exactly what was going through the blonde's head, Merlin felt his spirits drop even further at the slightly maniac smile Arthur was supporting.

"On you go," the prince told him, reaching up and pulling Merlin over easily with one hand, causing the warlock to land with a thud on the frame. Bracing himself as best he could considering the position he was in, Arthur gave the makeshift sledge a shove, only just catching hold of the rope in time as Merlin went shooting across the ice at a breathtaking speed with a surprised cry. Tugging sharply on the rope as Merlin neared where the horse was sitting, Arthur felt himself slide a few feet across the ice himself before the sledge thankfully slowed down enough for Merlin to reach precariously out and grab the small toy causing all of the problems.

"I've got it!" he yelled, causing Tristiam to let out a delighted cry. Smiling to himself at the child's reaction, Arthur once more tugged on the rope and brought Merlin spinning sharply back towards him. Realising a collision was about to occur, the prince somehow threw himself to one side as Merlin went whizzing by, the rope leaving his hand and trailing after the sledge.

Shooting off the ice and onto the snow, the change in surface made the sledge come to a smooth stop just in front of the child. Holding out the toy, Merlin smiled at the boy as the wooden figure was snatched with a sort of urgency from his hand. Throwing his arms around Merlin's neck, the servant found himself subjected to a quick but fierce hug before the child sped off, no doubt to tell his mother everything that had just occurred.

Climbing to his feet, Merlin and Gwen shared a small smile at the child's delighted reaction. Taking hold of the rope which had followed him in, Merlin began to tow the sledge away from the edge of the pond.

"Oi!" the cry followed him as the servant began to slowly walk away, a grin stretching from ear to ear. Oh, but vengeance was sweet sometimes.

"You can't just leave me!" Trying and failing to climb to his feet, Arthur suddenly realised just how far out on the pond he was and how very slippery ice was when only wearing boots.

_The End._


End file.
